California Man Arrested for Illegal Arms Deal to Nigeria

A California man has been arrested for illegally brokering the sale of military-grade weapons to the Nigerian government.

Ara Dolarian, 58, was arrested last week in the central California city of Fresno.

The U.S. attorney's office said Monday Dolarian had accepted more than $8 million for brokering a deal to sell bombs, rockets and guns from Eastern Europe and South Africa to Abuja.

Prosecutors said Dolarian's Fresno-based arms brokering company was not authorized to make international deals. The Fresno Bee newspaper reports his business neighbors thought he was importing and exporting tea.

Dolarian is also accused of money laundering and could face 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

Dolarian, who now lives in Bulgaria, was arrested at the Fresno home of his mother.